Contact:Paula Sollami CovelloOffice of the Mercer County Clerk: 609-989-6465

TRENTON - Anticipating a high turnout for the Primary Election on June 3, Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello announced that her election office will be offering extended hours for those that wish to Vote-By-Mail prior to Election Day. Trenton residents will also be able to obtain vote by mail ballots for the Trenton Municipal run -off election during the same hours.

In additional to regular business hours, the County Clerk's Office will be open on:

Wednesday, May 28, 2014 from 8:30am to 8pm (Primary Election and Trenton run-off)

Saturday, May 31, 2014 from 9am to 1pm (Primary Election and Trenton run-off)

The Superintendent of Elections office, run by Cathy DiCostanzo, will be open for the same duration. Further, the Board of Elections, chaired by Joanne Palmucci, will be open a half-hour longer than the other offices, for those wishing to return their completed ballots on these dates.

The Mercer County Clerk's Election Office is located on the second floor of the Courthouse Annex at 209 South Broad Street, in Trenton. Sheriff Officers will be on-site to provide security.

For the Primary, Vote-By-Mail ballots, sent by mail, must be received by the County Clerk's office no later than Tuesday, May 6, 2014. However, voters may visit the County Clerk's Election office today and apply for a Vote-by-Mail ballot, and vote in person up until 3:00 pm on Monday, June 2, 2014, the day before the election.

The Mercer County Clerk's Office can process a Vote-by-Mail application and provide a ballot on site, if the voter applies in person. However, the ballot must be returned directly to the Mercer County Board of Elections at 640 South Broad Street in Trenton, in order for the vote to be counted. That office will also be offering extended hours. In order to Vote-By-Mail in New Jersey and obtain a mail-in ballot, you must already be a registered voter in Mercer County.

This Primary Election has a contest for the 12th Congressional seat in the Democratic Party, and a heated U.S. Senate contest for the Republican Party. The County Clerk has offered these expanded Vote-by-Mail hours to make it convenient for those who might not be able to visit the Clerk's Office during regular business hours. "Voting should be accessible to any registered voter and sometimes business hours are not convenient for working people. That is why I extended the hours," said Sollami Covello.

The Trenton Municipal run-off election will be held on June 10, 2014. Vote by mail applications may be obtained in person until 3pm on June 9th.

County Clerk Sollami Covello also reminds voters to follow the instructions carefully.

Vote-by-Mail applications can also be downloaded from the New Jersey Division of Elections website at www.NJElections.org in English, Spanish, Korean, Indian (Gujarati), and Chinese.

Additionally, the applications may be obtained at the Mercer County Connection office, located in the Hamilton Square Shopping Center at Route 33 and Paxson Avenue in Hamilton, and mailed in to the Board of Elections by Election Day.